Feast of the Ascension Celebrated at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
29.05.2025
On May 29, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This sacred day also commemorates the historic event of 1441, when the Catholicosate of All Armenians was transferred from the city of Sis (Cilicia) to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
By the directive of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, this dominical feast has also been proclaimed a pilgrimage day to Holy Etchmiadzin.
On the occasion of the feast, and with the blessing of the Supreme Patriarch, the Divine and Immortal Liturgy was celebrated in the Mother Cathedral of the Descent of the Only-Begotten. The celebrant was His Grace Archbishop Haykazun Najaryan, a member of the Monastic Congregation of the Mother See.
In his homily during the Divine Liturgy, His Grace spoke about the spiritual significance of the feast, reminding the faithful that before His Ascension, Christ instructed His disciples to continually preach the Word of God, share His teachings, and guide those who had gone astray back to the path of righteousness.
The Archbishop also recalled the historic event of the transfer of the Catholicosate from Sis to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, affirming that the decision of the Eastern Church fathers to return the spiritual center of the Armenian Church—the seat of the Catholicosate of All Armenians—to its divinely ordained birthplace, was both rightful and wise.
"Beloved faithful, the Mother See is that steadfast cornerstone to which, if the Armenian people remain loyal—regardless of how far they may be or how great their sufferings—the light that radiates from this See shall continue to bestow spiritual strength upon the children of our nation, enabling them to overcome all adversity and to move forward in the spirit of the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, with the conviction that light shall always prevail over darkness," stated Archbishop Haykazun. He expressed his prayerful hope that the renewed Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin may continue to serve as a wellspring of spiritual nourishment and a guiding beacon for the Armenian faithful on their path to salvation until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Following the Divine Liturgy, a Patriarchal Blessing was offered before the Holy Altar of the Descent in the Mother Cathedral, presided over by His Grace Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh. During the blessing, the clergy and faithful offered prayers to God for the steadfastness, radiance, and flourishing of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Catholicosate of All Armenians.
